1. How to RFA (Successfully)
Channing Philbrick

2. Project Ideas
Best Practices

3. Define the Problem Start with a clearly defined problem or goal
“A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” (Thomas Kettering)
Self check:
How will you know when your project is successful?
What constraints must your solution satisfy?

4. Solve the Problem Be aware of alternatives
Is there a better way to accomplish your project’s goals?
Can your problem be solved without using ECE approach?
Re-evaluate your design regularly
Are you using the best sensors for the job?
Can something be done more efficiently?
Strive for elegance

5. Design Complexity Evaluated on a case-by-case basis
Complexity is a function of the problem definition
“Design complexity”
circuit implementation
software implementation
mathematical analysis (signal processing, control theory, EM, etc…)

6. Example RFA
# Problem
Theme parks, airports, hotels, libraries, corporations, etc., all have general ideas of how many people are on their premises throughout the day or year but they do not know the instantaneous count of people over that area.
# Solution Overview
Our solution for accurately counting individuals entering or exiting an area is a portable battery-powered device which can be mounted above a door frame. It uses ultrasonic and infrared sensors to count individuals crossing the door threshold.

7. Example RFA # Solution Components ## Sensor Subsystem
- Passive infrared sensors for detecting a human being about to cross a doorway and trigger ultrasonic sensors
- Ultrasonic sensors for detecting the heights of individuals, whether they are entering or exiting, and determining whether multiple people are crossing the threshold simultaneously
We will use different frequency ultrasonic sensors focused at different angles to gain topology information at different locations simultaneously.

8. Example RFA ## Processing Subsystem
- Internal microcontroller for A/D conversion and initial signal processing (Atmel atmega328)
- Bluetooth or Zigbee to send data from microcontroller to external server
## Power Subsystem
- Converts standard outlet power to required sensor, microcontroller, communications module demands

9. Example RFA # Criterion for Success
Our solution can accurately count groups of people crossing a doorway simultaneously, report counts to a remote server, and last at least one day on batteries.
SensorInsight currently provides a camera-based solution for watching crowds flows over a wide area. Our solution is different because we focus on precisely counting people entering or exiting an area. We seek to build a much cheaper solution than one of SensorInisght’s high definition cameras with our mixed sensor module.

10. Submit an RFA
In Threeish Easy Steps

11. Step 1: Post an idea to the Web Board

12. Step 1.5: Respond to feedback

13. Step 2: Submit the RFA

14. Step 2: Submit the RFA

15. Step 3: Incorporate Feedback
Your proposal is automatically cloned to the Web Board
That’s how you end up with “Project Proposal” posts
The staff may give you feedback
Update your RFA from the My Project page
Project Rejected
Try, try again…
Project Approved
Start working on your Proposal

16. Jan 17, 2019 4:45pm Jan 31, 2019 4:45pm Initial Post Deadline
Approval Deadline
Jan 31, :45pm